Day 3: June 2nd
Well, we didn’t actually get to see the Hagia Sophia.
Sadface. I still love the city though. We left the dorms at 8:30 and went wayyy
uphill (fav quote: I did not sign up for the freaking stairmaster at the freaking
18000 difficulty level!) and then down the street to Cotla, the café we had
dinner at yesterday. They have free but sketchy wifi, but super nice service.
They don’t speak much English, and we don’t speak enough Turkish, but we smile
and they smile and eventually we figure each other out. I got menemen, which is
wayyy out of my comfort zone food wise. It’s tomato based, with peppers,
scrambled eggs, and cheese. It tastes better on bread. We met Nihan at 10:30 by
the library, and took a Yeditepe bus down to the European side. It took about
an hour. First we went to an underground citadel bathouse thing that was super
old and creepy/cool. The columns were Ionic and doric, and there were fish
chilling around. The famous part is the two medusa heads, there are a bunch of
stories on why they are there. Pretty legit, but idk if it was worth the 10 TL.
After that, we walked by the Hagia Sophia, but the line was insane so we
decided to try again later. We then tried to go to the Blue Mosque, but it was
closed to visitors because it was praying time. So we went to the Grand Bazaar.
Holy cow. Insanity. Massively huge. I got some evil eye stuff for presents for
people back home, and a lot of the stuff looked cool but you could tell it was
mostly for tourists, and so so quality. We grabbed lunch around 2ish at a small
place right outside the bazaar. I’m going to go on a food rant real quick, hold
on. Honestly menemen is not my thing. The ravioli thing yesterday was
interesting in a “I’d rather not have that again, because Greek yogurt and
pasta is an odd combo” sort of way. The food looks Greek, but Greek food is sooooo
much better in my opinion. For lunch today, classic pita with skewered chicken,
should be delish, right? Nope, because the Turkish way to cook it involves like
10 gallons of Tabasco sauce, and I think mild salsa is spicy. But it
looookkkksssss like it should taste amazeballs, and then it’s super spicy, and
I’m just like urggggghhhh. But the pita was awesomeJ After that, we walked around
Istanbul back to the Blue Mosque, and were able to get inside it this time.
Amazing. Stunning. Wow. We had to take off our shoes, and they provided scarfs
for us to wear, and we were quiet and respectful of the people praying. The
intricate designs and stained glass windows were beeeyyyooouuuttteeefuuuullll.
After that, we walked around the city more, and didn’t go to the Hagia Sophia
because we had to meet the bus at 4pm and we didn’t want to rush through it. So
we wandered and enjoyed the city. The bus ride back took an hour and halfish,
traffic was insane. Our driver at one point backed up, angrily cussed someone
out, and then passed them on the outside of the road. The driving here is
crazy, like Lima and Athens. Buttt, there is tons of cellphone usage, unlike
Athens.
The weather here is gorgeous. It would be perfect if shorts
weren’t such a no-no. It’s like low/mid 70s (but walking around for miles, and
the lack of breezes in the heart of the city) make it too warm for jeans to be
comfy. I don’t get how everyone doesn’t die of heatstroke, because most people
are in long sleeved tops and long pants. The full burkas are a pretty light
material, but some of the men are in very warm outfits. The straights and the
golden horn are so pretty, pictures don’t do it justice. Hopping back and forth
between Europe and Asia is just mind blowing.
Tonight, we are leaving the dorms at 8, taking the bus (our
first time getting on without Nihan) and meeting Nihan at 9 by the ferries to
go out. Should be interesting…
Xoxo to infinity and beyond!
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